‘Rocket Cat’ Depicted In 16th Century German Manuscript

A page from a 16th century German manuscript depicts what appears to be a “rocket cat.” The illustrated feline is reportedly accompanied by the caption, “To ignite a castle with a cat.”

The feline-unfriendly picture comes from Das Feuer Buch (aka The Fire Book), a manuscript that is currently housed at the University of Pennsylvania. According to Boing Boing, the image also depicts a bird strapped with a bomb sailing towards a castle.

Written in Germany back in 1584, the 235-page tome describes a wide variety of ways soldiers could possibly attack their foes. Included in the manuscript are several illustrations featuring hand grenades, barrel bombs, and helpless cats strapped with explosive devices.

The University of Pennsylvania website describes the book as “treatise on munitions and explosive devices, with many illustrations of the various devices and their uses.”

The folks at BibliOdyssey have posted several images from Das Feuer Buch, including the image depicting the rocket cat being inhumanely propelled towards a castle. Other pictures show an explosive device stuffed with shrapnel and slings loaded with flaming bombs.

The 16th century German manuscript offers up an exhaustive collection of weaponry, most of which are designed around blowing something up. One image shows how a person might go about crafting a burning battering ram, while another page illustrates what appears to be early landmines.

Outside of the rocket cat and his feathered companion, one of the most striking images currently making the rounds depicts what appears to be a strange collection of early hand grenades. Most of the items shown in the manuscript would be out-of-place inside the pages of fantasy novels or comic books.

The full page featuring the cat bomb in all its glory has been included below.

If you’re curious to see other pages from this 16th century manuscript, be sure to swing by BibliOdyssey. What do you think about “rocket cat?”